A Visit With Dad... Again, More Information

When visiting with Dad last Saturday, I asked if Grandpa Norris had worked in the shipyards during the war. I knew Daddy did and Geraldine (I think) mentioned in our discussions of building the house that Grandpa did too. Daddy confirmed that Grandpa had worked in the shipyards as a "shipfitter's helper". When I asked what that job entailed, he said the shipfitter was the man who fitted the large sections of steel plate that the ship was made from in place and that Grandpa assisted in that.

Daddy was a welder and I recall hearing him talk about taking a sling-shot to work with him. He said he used the "plugs" that were cut out to make space for the rivets in the steel plates in the sling-shot to kill the rats that were ever-present. He would use bits of bread from his lunch to attract them within range. He said he was so successful that his supervisor made him stop because the stench of the dead rats had become too much.

Evidently there were two shipyards in the Houston area during the war. One was the "Houston Shipyard" which built Liberty ships... used to haul cargo. The other was "Brown Shipyard" which built navel vessels... destroyer escorts and landing vessels. Daddy worked in both of the shipyards at one time or another.

Every morning, two buses left Humble bound for the shipyards; one to each. Workers who didn't drive in carpooled private vehicles paid to ride the bus bound for his particular place of employment. Since tires and gasoline were rationed, and difficult to come by even if you had the coupons, many workers rode the buses. The shipyards were located on the ship channel along about Galena Park.

For more information on shipyards in Houston during the war, click on the URL below:
http://www.coltoncompany.com/consulting/Shipbuilding%20in%20Texas.pdf

More information from this interview in the next few days.